Chapter 6. The Pursuit of "Boxster R"

With a sense of my Boxster GTS's current position in the pecking order, I have some ideas about improving its rank - a "Boxster R" of my imagination and an attempt to get a bit closer to the 993 RS car which is said to be one of the most engaging road going cars ever.

On my Perfect Driver’s Car scale (Chapter 5), cars with scores of 90+ (out of 100) are decidedly out of reach for me, they are "unobtainium" and I can only admire them and live vicariously through videos. But I feel the Boxster GTS 4.0 platform has such a great foundation that it lends itself well to some score improvement. Porsche already has higher variants based on this platform, like GT4 and GT4 RS and even aftermarket shops have done 4.5L and 4.7L bore engines, and the chassis has been able to handle the significant power increase, based on all accounts. Although power increase is not my objective.

So, climbing a few steps up the proverbial ladder from 72/100 to perhaps low 80s seems feasible for the Boxster and a fun way to make this forever car my very own. 

The ethos of this Boxster R project is to be a Goldilocks of a car with a balance of power, torque, sound and weight without one element being dominant for the highest amount of driving engagement and visceral sensations. I have an idea of what that balance should be and the next chapter I'll explore that. But my primary approach in no particular order would be: 

  1. To shed as much weight as reasonably possible.
    My Boxster GTS 4.0 weighed 3190 lbs in stock form, on my scales and Boxster R would ideally be a sub 3000 lbs car. Preference would be to shed rotational mass.

  2. To improve the exhaust sound.
    Stock exhaust Boxster GTS 4.0 has not satiated my desire for sound and Boxster R would sing a song that has the soul and cry that stock exhaust lacks.

  3. To improve the handling and feedback.
    Stock Boxster GTS handles very well in the canyons while still being a very nice daily driver. But the goal would be to optimize the handling more toward canyon carving, while still being suple.

  4. To shorten the gearing.
    Going 84 mph in 2nd gear and 116 mph in 3rd would not be a problem if I did not have any desire to follow speed limits. Shorter gears would simply shift the scale of enjoyment a bit towards legal speeds, without adding anything else. I'd like to enjoy driving my Boxster R at or around legal speeds.

 Next Chapter


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